R.I. unemployment rate jumps to second-highest in nation

Rhode Island’s unemployment rate remained the highest in New England in September and October, rising to a seasonally adjusted 9.2 percent from 9.1 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

R.I. unemployment rate jumps to second-highest in nation

RHODE ISLAND'S SEPTEMBER and October unemployment rates of 9.2 percent ranked second-highest in the country, after Nevada with 9.4 percent in September and 9.3 percent in October. The national unemployment rate was 7.2 percent in September and 7.3 percent in October.

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s unemployment rate remained the highest in New England in September and October, rising to a seasonally adjusted 9.2 percent from 9.1 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics regional and state employment and unemployment report for September, originally scheduled for release on Oct. 22, was canceled due to the partial shutdown of the federal government. Friday’s report of the October figures included the first official estimates of the September unemployment numbers.

Nationally, Rhode Island’s 9.2 percent unemployment rate for both months was the second-highest in the country, up from third-highest in August. Only Nevada posted higher rates at 9.4 percent in September and 9.3 percent in October, while Michigan’s reported unemployment rate of 9 percent for both months came in third-highest.

Rhode Island joins 9 states and the District of Columbia with a jobless rate measurably higher than the national rate of 7.3 percent.

In New England, Vermont boasted the region’s lowest unemployment rate at 4.5 percent, followed by New Hampshire with 5.1 percent, Maine with 6.7 percent, Massachusetts with 7.2 percent and Connecticut with 7.9 percent.

The national unemployment rate dipped to 7.2 percent in September from 7.3 percent in August, before rising again to 7.3 percent in October.

In a ranking of the nine census divisions in the nation, New England placed dead-center for its seasonally-adjusted jobless rate of 7.1 percent, trailing the West North Central (5.1 percent), West South Central (6.3 percent), Mountain (7 percent) and South Atlantic (7 percent) regions. The highest unemployment rate by division was 8.2 percent, recorded in the Pacific region.

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